


Reunification

by afteriwake



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blind Date, F/M, Happy Ending, Happy Lestrade, Happy Molly, POV Molly Hooper, Past Molly Hooper/Greg Lestrade, Past Relationship(s), Poor Lestrade, Poor Molly, Pre-Series, Reunions, Reunited and It Feels So Good, Stamford Plays Matchmaker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-02
Updated: 2017-09-02
Packaged: 2018-12-23 02:59:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11980671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: Molly has been single for a long time, ever since the one man she loved when she was in medical school slipped away from her. So imagine her surprise when she goes on the blind date her boss set up to see him there...





	Reunification

**Author's Note:**

  * For [stbartsmolly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stbartsmolly/gifts).



> I don't have the exact prompt on hand (I posted it ages ago) but **stbartsmolly** saw the prompt and asked " _would you be able to write that prompt for molly and lestrade? the one where they're broken up but put on a blind date? :D!_ " So _hopefully_ this is close to the prompt even though I didn't have it on hand. Written for a belated Day 5 entry for Molly Hooper Appreciation Week (" _The Wrong Trouser Of Time_ ").

“Molly, do you have a boyfriend?”

Molly blanched at the question. She _really_ hoped her brand new boss wasn’t hitting on her. “Um...” she said, feeling and sounding awkward.

Stamford realized his mistake and shook his head, holding up his hands as well. “Not for me! No, I just...I think I know a man who might be a good fit for you. If you’d tolerate me setting you up on a blind date, I mean.”

“Oh!” she said relaxing. “Well...I haven’t really dated in a while. Had a long distance relationship with someone here in London and it just...fizzled out.”

“How long ago was that?” he asked.

“About ten years ago,” she said ruefully.

“Ten years?” Stamford said, surprised. “You should have had all sorts of offers!”

She gave a small laugh. “Well, I loved the man, and I just haven’t met anyone else who captured my attention the way he did.” She tilted her head then. “But I suppose for _one_ date, that would be fine.”

“I’ll see if he’s interested and set it up,” Stamford said. Then he reached over and patted her arm, almost in a gesture that seemed like he was reassuring her it wouldn’t be an utter disaster. “You’ll like him. He’s a great match.”

“I will take your word for it, Mike,” she said, giving him a grin. Really, she didn’t _want_ to do this, but he seemed so earnest about it. If it would make her boss happy, then she would do it. She watched him pull his hand away and then turn and leave the room, and she settled into her work to get her mind off things.

But unfortunately, thoughts of her past love filled the surface.

There had been a bit of an age difference, but at twenty-four she hadn’t minded much. Not when he made her smile and laugh more than the blokes her own age. He’d been in Cambridge working on a project with the local police there, and it had almost literally been love at first sight.

It just hadn’t lasted.

Oh, once he went back to London they tried, they did. But busy schedules and her medical school training leaving her with the oddest shifts just killed the relationship dead in the water. Last she had heard, he’d gotten married and was...happy.

And strangely, she was happy for him. Oh, she would have loved to be his wife, but she didn’t want him lonely or unhappy. There had been a fight, yes, and bitter words had been said, but ten years was a long time to let wounds heal and really, she was happy enough. A little lonely, yes, but happy. And she only wanted the same for him.

A few hours later Mike came back and said drinks at The Viaduct Tavern had been arranged, and he’d decided to set up a tab for the two of them so she was free to have a few drinks in case he was wrong. She thanked him because really, that was a sweet gesture, and he had grinned and said he hoped she had a good time.

She went home at the end of her shift and dressed up a little more than usual: a black dress with thin straps covered with white flowers embroidered along the bust and waist and down the right side of the dress in bunches, and a netted type fabric covering her bust and shoulders. A little bit fancy for drinks, but she decided if she was going to dress up for this date she’d wear a dress that made her feel pretty. She spent far too often not feeling pretty. She thought about wearing her hair down but then decided to wear it in a sleek topknot just so it wouldn’t bother her. A few spritzes of perfume and a change into black kitten heels and she was all set.

She took a cab to the tavern just in case the date was a disaster and she decided to drink up Stamford’s tab. Once she got into the Viaduct, she looked around. All Stamford told her was her date was older and favoured bad suits.

It took her a moment to spot him and she couldn’t believe her eyes. At that moment, he looked up from his hands on the table and stared at her in shock. It was the one who had gotten away…

Greg Lestrade.

She made her way to the booth he was sitting in. “Mike’s doing?” she asked.

He nodded, giving her a small smile. “Yeah.” He tilted his head slightly. “I didn’t know you’d come to London.”

She sat down across from him, giving him a smile. “Barts offered me free run of the pathology department.”

“So _you’re_ the genius the detectives are talking about,” he said, his smile widening. “I should have known.”

“So you’re still with Scotland Yard?” she asked.

He nodded. “I think you may have met my sergeant, Sally Donovan?”

Her eyes widened. “She said she was getting results for Greg and it slipped my mind it could have been you. I thought...” She tapered off, not wanting to bring up his marriage. Obviously, if he was on a date with her, it had gone south.

“My wife tried to get me to leave after I got shot at. That was kind of the first straw, and then a lot more piled on top until there was one that broke the camel’s back,” he said with a wry smile. “That would be her affair.”

“Oh, Greg,” she said, instinctively reaching over for his hands. “I’m sorry.”

“I am too,” he said. “She was just a pale imitation of you.”

Molly blushed at that. He reached up and held her hands lightly, and she squeezed them. She had the feeling tonight, if Stamford’s tab got used up, it wouldn’t be because the date had gone horribly wrong. No, Stamford had been absolutely right, or at least she hoped he was.

Her date _was_ absolutely perfect for her.


End file.
